Power crisis in Odisha

Odisha is the first state in India to reform power sector and privatize it. Till last year we were surplus in electricity(though many villages are yet to be electrified). But due to rapid industrialization,growth in population,climate change,change in peoples' life style we are now facing power crisis.In this hot and humid summer power cut is making life miserable. Odisha has potential for more hydel and thermal power project. We have to take immediate steps to increase power production before the situation goes beyond control.

Rasogolla:indigenous oriya sweet

I love food. I love sweets. I love ‘Rasogolla’.you ask for mitha(sweet-meat) in a restaurant in Orissa and they will provide rasogolla, although they sell a variety of sweets; such is the popularity of this sweet. Rasogolla is available almost all over India. But regarding the origin one myth is associated with rasogolla. Many people believe that rasogolla is originated in Bengal; though the truth is that it is an indigenous Oriya sweet. Though the exact time period of its origin is not known it is believed that rasogolla is being consumed in Orissa from medieval period.
People who believe that rasogolla is of Bengal origin claim that one sweetmeat maker from Bengal invented it in 1868 when he tried to make something ‘different’. To discard others claim regarding rasogolla’s origin some even say that Indians did not know the use of milk derivatives as rasogolla is prepared from chhena- a milk derivative. They learnt it from Portugese and this knowledge came through Bengal. Such a pity! These researchers forgot that in Mahabharat we get the description of various milk products being prepared in Goppura.
Let us know the actual fact about rasogolla. Among many other variety of indigenous sweets rasogolla is offered as prasad in Jagannath temple. Particularly after Ratha yatra Lord Jagannath offers rasogolla to Maa Laxmi to please Her(as Lord Jagannath is accompanied by His brother and sister to Gundicha temple and Maa Laxmi is left). This ritual is followed every year. So one can get an idea of how old rasogolla is; definitely its origin is not in 1868. Another important fact about Jagannath temple is that; nothing is used as Prasad in Puri which is not indigenous including vegetables like potato tomato cabbage etc.(though these are being used in other Jagannath temples). This proves the point that rasogolla is originated in Orissa.
One might become curious as to how rasogolla is so much popular in Bengal. During nineteenth century many Oriya Brahmins were employed in Bengal as cook who were called thakurs. These people introduced rasogolla in Bengal which became popular for its taste. Oriyas were never interested in publicity. When people in Bengal wanted to store rasogolla for more days they mixed some impurities in the ingredients to increase its shelf life. Then only it could be easily exported. Lack of publicity and marketing by Oriya people led to the wrong notion regarding rasogolla’s origin. To get the exact taste one should try fresh rasogolla if available instead of canned one. Though canned rasogollas are also exported from Orissa it decreases the taste like any other packed food item. Salepur and Pahal are famous for rasogolla in Orissa. Next time you visit Orissa don’t forget to taste the authentic rasogolla.

Oriya album

In this article I will discuss about the Oriya music album industry. For this purpose I have excluded the songs from Oriya films and songs produced by Aakash Vani (AIR). Scope of this writing includes both devotional (bhajan) songs and modern songs.
Now-a-days we have so many music companies. But in the early days, when there were no music company in Orissa, companies like Gaathani and HMV were releasing records of Oriya artists. Later Oriya companies like JE (now Sarthak) and Samrat produced music cassettes besides geetinatyas, jaatras and comedies.
In the early 1990s album music saw a little degradation both in content and form. Dual meaning lyrics and hindi film music initiated songs made inroad to the industry. Then only audio albums were available. In 1995, Jai Prakash Mohanty (popularly known as JP) made a brave attempt to picturise popular old songs of veterans like Akshaya Mohanty, Prafulla Kar Pranab Pattanaik, Chitta Jena and others. These were being telecast by Doordarshan in the programme ‘Rajanigandha’. Popularity of this programme caught the imagination of the music companies and they started producing videos of their new music albums. Now Oriya album industry has grown in size and the quality of work has improved a lot. Even albums are more popular than film songs in Orissa. Hit albums are being dubbed and released in West Bengal, and response is encouraging.
Here is a list of some of the most appreciated personalities involved with album industry.
Singers: Ira Mohanty, T. Shouri, Sailabhama, Shakti Misra, Barun Misra, Bibhu Kishore, Pankaj Jal, Namita Agarwal, Manasi, Pami, Sanghamitra, Kumar Bapi, Sricharan, Subhasis Mahakul, Govind Chandra, Saurabh, Narendra Kumar, Anasuya Nath.
Music directors: Veterans : Swarup Nayak, Late Saroj Nanda, Amarendra Mohanty, Deepak Kumar, Manmath Mishra. Contemporaries : Malay Misra, Abhijeet Majumdar, Santiraj Khosla, Purna Khuntia, Giridhar Gamang (former chief minister of Orissa), Braja Jena, Gagan Vihari, Prem Anand (real name Premanand).
Lyricists : Nizam, Alekh Biswal, Arun Mantri, Basantraj Samal, Srikanta Goutam, Nirmal Nayak, Panchanan Nayak, Jatindra Pradhan.
Actress : Lipi, Meghna, Kajal, Mithi, Sweety, Deepa, Jina, Lopamudra, Gargi, Susmita, Naina, Soma Hota, Soma Bhowmik, Monalisa(3).
Actor : Deepak, Late Papu, Bulu, Bobby Mishra, Aakash,Salil Mitra.
By virtue of their performance, some of the actors like Anubhav, Sabyasachi, Ameli, Mithi, Kajal have established themselves in the film industry also.
In spite of its success story, album industry is facing some problems. It is alleged that mafia (bhai) and builders are investing money in the industry for other reasons, not for the sake music. Stories are published about the rural girls aspiring to act in the albums are being exploited. Music companies are encouraging cheap lyrics for instant success. Bhajans are lacking devotional feelings. Business wise piracy is a threat to the music companies.

Ratha Yatra

Today Ratha Yatra was celebrated.some facts about the rathas(chariots)are given below.
Chariot of Lord Jagannath
The Chariot of Lord Jagannath is known as Nandighosha. It is also known as Garudadhwaja and Kapidhwaja.
Height: 13’.5m
Number of wheels: 16 (seven feet diameter)
Length and breadth: 34’6” x 34’.6”
Wrappings: Red, Yellow color cloths
Total Number of wooden pieces used: 832
The Rath (chariot) of Lord Jagannath is guarded by Garuda – the mythical bird and vehicle of Lord Vishu. The charioteer is called Dahuka and the flag is named ‘Trailokyamohini.’ The wooden horses driving the chariot are named as Shankha, Balahaka, Suweta, Haridashwa. The rope used to pull is called Sankhachuda. There are nine presiding deities in the chariot – Varaha, Gobardhan, Gopi Krishna, Narasimha, Rama, Narayan, Trivikrama, Hanuman and Rudra.
Chariot of Balabhadra
The Chariot of Balabhadra is known as Taladhwaja.
Height: 13’.2m
Number of wheels: 14 (seven feet diameter)
Length and breadth: 33’ x 33’
Wrappings: Red, bluish green color cloths
Total Number of wooden pieces used: 763
The chariot of Balabhadra is guarded by Vasudev. The charioteer is Matali and the flag is named ‘Unnani.’ The horses are called Tibra, Ghora, Dirghasharma and Swornanava. The rope used is named basuki. Ganesha, Kartikeya, Sarvamangala, Pralambari, Hatayudha, Mrutyunjaya, Natamvara, Mukteswar, and Shesha deva are the nine presiding deities.
Chariot of Subhadra
The Chariot of Subhadra is known as Darpadalana. It is also referred as Padmadhwaja.
Height: 12’.9m
Number of wheels: 12 (seven feet diameter)
Length and breadth: 31’.6’’ x 31’.6’’
Wrappings: Red, black color cloths
Total Number of wooden pieces used: 593
The chariot of Subhadra is guarded by Jayadurga. The charioteer is called Arjuna and the flag is Nadambika. The horses are Rochika, Mochika, Jita and Aparajita. The rope is called Swarnachuda. The nine subsidiary deities in the chariot are all female deities – Chandi, Chamunda, Ugratara, Vanadurga, Shulidurga, Varahi, Shyamakali, Mangala and Vimala.

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